Let Goodness Crown Your Year in 2017

Crown.

I imagine the three kings of Orient in a Christmas play. My mind’s eye pictures inauguration ceremonies of royal monarchs.

I envision crowning moments of beauty pageants. Iconic Disney princesses displayed in crowns.

I even think of paper crowns from Burger King. And plastic versions adorned with jewels…the finishing touch to a little girl’s costume.

A Crown for the New Year

But tucked inside God’s Word we find a unique meaning for crown. The action verb used to describe a calendar year.

“You crown the year with Your goodness, And Your paths drip with abundance” (Psalm 65:11 NKJV).

What reaction occurred when you read the passage?

• Astonishing.
• Breathless.
• Flabbergasted.
• In awe.
• Hopeful.
• None of the above.
• All of the above.

So, I know this is not school or even a test. Yet, I want us to think through the power of this Scripture as it relates to God’s goodness.

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Christmas Through the Eyes of Jesus’ Earthly Parents

The birth of Jesus lies at the center of the Christmas story. But have you ever wondered how Jesus’ earthly parents would describe the events? Or what we can learn from His parents to apply to our lives today?

A recent two-week Christmas series at our church, The Christmas Story Through the Eyes of a Mother and Father, discussed Joseph and Mary.

My husband, Mike, shared through the eyes of Joseph the first week. I covered Mary for part two.

So, for this week’s blog post, I highlight the main points of each message and provide links to our church website for the video openers (fun to make) and full Scripture passages.

Joseph, the Earthly Father of Jesus

In looking at the overall story, Joseph has no speaking parts…no words quoted in the Bible. Still, we learn valuable lessons from him. Always trust God’s…

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Giving Jesus to Pakistan for Christmas

A Christmas message of hope.

“Sister, Karen. I want to tell you that three women knock on my door. They say to me, ‘Asher, sorry to disturb you, sorry we wait all night to talk to you.'”

You see, with excitement, I’d accepted the opportunity to share a Christmas message and the good news of the gospel. I jumped at the chance to talk about my Lord.

Still, this wasn’t my usual speaker gig. But a Skype Conference to a group of women in Pakistan.

Wow! How cool is that? The ability, through technology, to go to the other side of the world…to go into all the world (Mark 16:15).

My Facebook friend, Asher, ministers in several cities and villages of Pakistan. He carries a heavy heart for the women and children, especially orphans and widows.

The rural areas are poor. The majority do not speak English. And the most astonishing spiritual fact? Pakistan’s only 3-4 % Christianity with the rest of the country steeped in Muslim beliefs. Even among the believers, few have Bibles.

Recently, the Lord stirred a word in my spirit. A timely message for me and for the women of Pakistan.

Below is the message Asher translated as I spoke. He asked that I speak in short, simple sentences and phrases. Friends and family prayed for our time. The Lord heard the cries of His people as we did not experience any technology glitches. But the Spirit moved in powerful ways.

The Christ of Christmas

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Does God Have the Whole World in His Hands?

Does God have the whole world in His hands?

With political unrest, lack of peace, the current state of our world, and persecution of Christians, the mental image of God holding the world brings me comfort. A security astounding an often weary soul.

And it’s during the Christmas season, we search for peace and security maybe as never before.

But I’ve often wondered something about the first Christmas. The birth of Jesus. What was it like for Mary and Joseph to hold Him?

The Holy Scriptures tell us they laid Christ in a manger. Yet, we can be sure they held the Christ child. Loving parents in awe of a baby.

Surely, relatives later took their turn. Those family members, “I can’t wait to get my hands on Him.” So, who doesn’t want to hold a baby and the new addition to one’s family tree? Aunts and uncles. All the common kinfolk. To lay their eyes on Him. To behold Him. And to hold Jesus.

They actually held God incarnate in their hands.

Me, you, the whole world

Jesus’ relatives held Him, but does God hold us in His hands?

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It’s My Birthday: I’m Revealing My Number 1 Wish

It’s my birthday! Make a wish and blow out the candles. 

Such fun, hope-filled words.

Today, December 1, is my official birthday. And, of course, my twin sister, Sharon, made an appearance in the world this same day. But a few minutes after my grand entrance.

There’s a glorious part about birthday wishes.

You can wish for anything. 

You don’t say anything unless you mean…any-thing. So, it’s exactly the kind of stuff I dared to dream…shiny things, on the hunch that maybe…possibly, a few of my “anythings” might actually become real.

Some came true, while others fizzled as quick as I blew out candles on a cake. Wishes that ran the spectrum of valiant and noble to downright self-centered and princess-ish.

Wishes I patiently waited on. And those I threw a childish tantrum over.

Still, deep in the depths of my soul, this girl’s always been a dreamer—wishing for the subtle pleasures of life and big ole’ ginormous things only God could pull off.

Looking back, I see the Lord’s tender mercies in my top wishes. In case you didn’t know, God’s the biggest dreamer of all. And He has dreams for each of us.

For me, celebrating a birthday adds up to more than five decades. Me and God still dream—together.

Here’s a countdown of my top 7 wishes:

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3 Reasons Why I’m Giving Up Blogging …

…on Thanksgiving Day.

So, truth is, I’m not giving up blogging, not totally. I just won’t be posting next week. This was such a fun blog last year, I decided to repost for those of you who may have forgotten my holiday and turkey sentiments, and for the benefit of my new readers.

As you know, I post an article every Thursday by Girl Friday. But I won’t be posting next Thursday. It’s a holiday.

Here’s a countdown of the 3 reasons why.

Reason #3

I love Turkey. It’s true. I do. Have you ever answered this question with friends, “If you could choose a last meal, what would it be?” Our Thanksgiving feast each year is one of my favorite meals. In fact, it’s first choice for my last meal. Second on the list is pasta. The peak of comfort food.

Envision this mouth-watering spread: turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, broccoli casserole, mac & cheese, corn, sweet potato casserole, cranberry salad, and home-made yeast rolls. Don’t forget the pumpkin pie, my Grandmother Clarkston’s lemon pie, and banana pudding! Smack your lips together and dream—there’s no meal like this one.

Along with my mom and sisters, I’ll start early in the week planning. Cooking. Making preparations.

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God Doesn’t Fit in Our Proverbial Good Box

Who determines good and bad? In people? In actions? What goes in each proverbial box?

The Good Box

Goodness is widely defined as the state or quality of being good. In relation to humans, it involves right behavior and avoiding evil.* And if we dig further, the noun for good has two meanings:

“That which is morally right; righteousness.”

“Benefit or advantage to someone or something.”**

But who decides what’s morally right? So how do we determine what’s beneficial? We loosely use the terms with multiple interpretations.

And while all people everywhere don’t always agree on the specifics, common threads exist.

Throughout childhood, experiences and people colored my viewpoint.

Karen, I’m disappointed in you…bad girl.

You’re being such a good girl.

Good behavior brought rewards, but bad behavior caused imminent punishment.

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He Loves Me…He Loves Me Not

“He loves me, he loves me not.” I plucked the white daisy petals, deciding the outcome of my childhood crush.

Daisy Petal Hope

Years later during a Sunday church service, daisies on my dress stirred those memories as I waited for my pastor-husband Mike to call me to the platform. He’d asked me to share the long journey of praying for my father to come to Christ. First we watched the Billy Graham video Hope for America—a Message of the Cross.

While I waited for my cue, the white-and-yellow daisies on a background of black seemed to blossom on my dress. The Lord put an image in my heart of plucking flower petals, representing a young girl’s hope for love. The image conveyed a message.

As a young girl, I longed for love—especially from a father. But my father left for several years. Starting in childhood we form beliefs about love. Beliefs about God often shape what we think about love.

There may be unbelief in God’s existence. Or we may believe there’s a God but form wrong thoughts about His character in these three ways.

God is...

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Some Things in Life are Overrated But Not This

“I don’t know what all the fuss is about. That movie’s overrated.”

My words became a frustrated howl as my friend and I left the theater.

We’d watched a new film with four and five star reviews. And over the short weeks since its debut, everywhere I turned people raved, applauded even, as the movie to go see.

I know these things can be subjective. Still, I didn’t understand the fanfare or hoopla for this one. At first, my friend defended the movie’s awesome-ness.

But finally a confession about the lead actor. “I’m his number one fan.” Then my friend admitted she’d seen better movies. But when we’re smitten and awestruck, our affections remain rock-solid.

Life offers a plethora of stuff to go crazy over. Misplaced affections steer us to overrate people and things. Besides movies, I’ll mention a few more scenarios perhaps you’ll relate to.

Overrated Things

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Why Gravy Reminds This Southern Girl of Jesus’ Scars

Do you have memories tied to an experience? Accidents, trauma, and even celebration often trigger a mental image and thoughts associated with the event. Here’s one of those events cemented in the recesses of my mind.

By Karen Friday

Southern gals know how to make gravy. It’s one of those unspoken prerequisites for coming of age in the south and getting married to a Southern guy.

Types of gravy come in the boatfuls—you’ve heard of the “gravy boat.” Red-eye gravy. Chocolate gravy. I’m referring to breakfast gravy, usually sausage-flavored, poured over piping-hot Southern biscuits.

For 20 years my husband, Mike, served as a youth pastor. He is now lead pastor of our church. Mike grew up on Southern gravy, as did I. Many of our pastor friends often discuss whether there is food in heaven and if it’s Southern favorites like pinto beans and cornbread . . . and gravy!

As a good Southern gal and pastor’s wife, I learned how to make gravy early on in our marriage. Over the years, I have made Southern gravy countless times, mostly on Saturdays.

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